I have noticed for some time that my car has taken to "Steering Itself" a bit. Yes, as I drive along the road, the car slowly meandered left, then right in little bits, forcing me to constantly correct its steering. I once described it by saying that I no longer steer the car, but rather suggest in which direction it should steer itself!
I finally got 'er jacked up, and had a look. Good thing I did, though sadly I drove it in this condition for pretty much the whole summer. I'll begin the explanation of my diagnosis with a question: "Is it important to have all your tie rod bushings well bolted & torqued in your steering system?".
The answer: Yes!
Ok, behold the initial teardown, and I immediately find what I expected - nasty play in the steering:
It turns out I had double-trouble here with my Idler arm. Refer to the parts diagram here... (Pulled from an excellent resource for your BMW mechanical needs: RealOEM.com) The Idler arm is a pretty critical part in steering - top-left of the diagram - part number 6. The tie-rod end was way loose, and the frame bushing end was BROKEN. (see pic!).
So, yikes to that. My whole right wheel was pretty much wiggling free, and only thanks to the nature of rotational momentum was I not constantly veering sporadically about the street. So with one replacement M10x75 hardened steel bolt&nut, and a couple new scabs on my knuckles, my steering is tight again!
Behold the purty new bolt peeking through the rusty frame!
And no more popping when I turn my wheel, and it goes where I want it to go! Yay for me.
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